Blessed: One-Shot Collection
by OnceUponaRumBelle
Summary: A series of one-shots following Rumple's life from the time he was drafted, up to when he injured himself to come home. This is how much better it would have been if it had been Belle waiting for him instead of Milah. Enjoy and don't forget to review Rating my change.


**A Simple Life**

Rumplestiltskin was so pleased when he came running into the cottage. This was it, the end to all of their monetary troubles and the end of the stigma he'd lived with since he was a boy thanks to his father's cowardice. When the Duke's men approached him in the fields he had been worried that the taxes were rising yet again. That would mean it would be impossible for he and his beloved wife. They would begin to starve, go cold or too hot and worse yet they could lose their little home. Instead they'd jerked his arm forward without ceremony and slapped a parchment into his outstretched, trembling hand.

Once he'd read over it, he had quickly rounded up the flock and herded them into their pin with the help of his sheep dog, Barneby. He scurried his way home right after and felt his heart grow lighter still when he took in his beautiful wife sitting there sewing up a leather pouch, dark brown hair falling over her shoulders until big blue eyes looked up to meet his own. Upon seeing his smile an answering smile appeared on her lovely face.

"You've gotten fast in your work," he praised her, watching as her smile grew.

"I had a good teacher," she replied.

He couldn't help himself and went to her to kiss her, a kiss she readily accepted and returned. As always a slow warmth began to pool in his lower belly from it, but he had far too much news to tell her to get carried away at the moment. So it was with great reluctance that he broke the kiss and sat down beside her, taking her hands in his after he took her work from her and set it aside.

Belle would have thought something was terribly wrong if it hadn't been for how her beloved husband seemed to be so happy. For a moment she wondered if he'd somehow heard about what she suspected. She'd been more tired lately and was getting more hungry, more often. She'd started getting nauseous in the mornings too. All signs pointed to the possibility that a baby, their baby was growing within her womb. But then whatever he was bout to say was interrupted by a village woman, a new mother herself of a daughter came rushing in.

"Belle the healer is ready to see- Oh am I interrupting something?"

Belle gave her a sheepish smile and shook her head at the woman's questioning look. She'd been asked if she was going to tell her husband that she could be pregnant. She didn't want to say anything yet though, not when it was possible she wasn't pregnant and she was simply getting some kind of strange sickness. She didn't want to raise her spinner's hopes and then crush them again if she wasn't carrying their child.

"Healer?"

Rumple's worried voice and the squeeze he gave her hands had her looking up at him again and found his usually warm brown gaze clouded with worry. She reached up and gently placed a hand against his cheek.

"Could you give us a moment, Morgan?" she asked without taking her eyes from her husband.

From her peripheral vision she saw the woman nod and make her way back outside. Belle was grateful that Morgan at least, out of a full village didn't look upon her beloved husband with disdain. That alone had made befriending her easy. Morgan as well as Belle hated how the rest of the village looked down upon Rumplestiltskin for the actions of his father. Rumple wasn't that man. He put more on himself than he needed to in fact, he ran himself ragged to provide for the two of them, he had a big and soft heart and loved with every beat of it.

"Wipe that worry from your heart my love, its only a check up," she assured him, moving some hair from the path of his eyes. "But I have to go now while he's free to see me. I'm sorry, but can the news wait?"

He visibly relaxed from her reassurance and nodded, taking the hand he still held and lifted it to press a kiss to her knuckles. She smiled, feeling her heart race a bit faster and warm from the gesture. Really he could make her feel like an adolescent with a crush all over again sometimes.

"I'll be here sweetheart," he promised.

"I won't be long," she promised in return.

The next kiss they shared was brief but no less filled with love and was broken by him. When she opened her eyes he was already gazing at her with a warm smile.

"The sooner you go, the sooner you'll get back."

She nodded in agreement and leaned in for one more peck before getting up and walking to the door. She paused there to turn back, watching him as he stood to go to his spinning wheel. Only then did she let her smile fall. They were barely making it with just the two of them, what would they do about a baby? But-she reminded herself with a returning smile-they always found a way. Now would be no different. If she was in fact pregnant, a child would be a blessing.


End file.
